Community mourns death of 15-year-old high school student hit and killed in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A pedestrian who was hit and killed overnight has been identified as a student in San Jose, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner confirms.

Police say Justin Estira, 15, was struck by a vehicle just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday on the 2400 block of Rinconada Ave.

Estira was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The San Jose Unified School District confirms Justin Estira was a student at Willow Glen High School.

Eden Tafoya who lives near the scene says he heard a commotion in the early morning hours but had no idea Estira, who he had gone to school with, was the victim.

"I just saw him the other day too recently. So it's very shocking," Tafoya said, "He was a close friend. we and my friends chatted through text, and everything. It's a very hard loss."

A preliminary investigation shows a female driver of a 2019 Subaru sedan was driving north at a low speed through an apartment complex parking lot when they struck Estira.

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CHP says that the victims had gotten out of their cars after the series of crashes and two of them were sent over the median where they were hit by a southbound car and killed.

Police say the driver of the car was in her late teens and did have a valid license.

They say she cooperated with the investigation and was released.

"There's no indication that this was done on purpose," said Sergeant Jorge Garibay with the San Jose Police Department, "At this point, we're investigating it as simple vehicle collision, with just unfortunate circumstances."

Still police say the investigation into what happened will include a look at whether or not drugs or alcohol were a factor.

MORE: 1 dead, 3 injured after multi-car collision in south San Jose, police say

San Jose police and firefighters are on the scene of a deadly crash involving multiple vehicles.

The driver of the vehicle, they say, could face charges pending a review of the case by the Santa Clara County District attorney.

Police say this is the 19th fatal collision of 2023. This is also the 12th pedestrian death of the year.

The school district says it is offering counseling support for students or employees.

Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to contact Detective O'Brien #3527 of the San José Police Department's Traffic Investigations Unit at 3527@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4654.